Tsunami alert after 7.2 quake shakes El Salvador, Nicaragua

SAN SALVADOR: A Pacific Ocean earthquake with a 7.2 magnitude shook El Salvador and Nicaragua on Thursday, officials said, an hour after a powerful hurricane hit Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast.

Salvadoran authorities issued a tsunami alert as a precaution.

The temblor occurred around 120 kilometers (75 miles) off the coast of El Salvador, at a depth of 33 kilometers (20 miles), according to the US Geological Survey, confirming the magnitude given by Salvadoran officials.

Shaking was also felt in the Nicaraguan capital of Managua, and as far as the Costa Rican capital San Jose.

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

Just one hour earlier, a powerful hurricane, Otto, packing winds of 175 kilometers (110 miles) per hour made landfall on Nicaragua’s other coast.

The heavy rains it was offloading were likely to cause dangerous flooding and mud slides, according to the US National Hurricane Center.